A Romanian notary can only transfer what the land book shows, exactly as it shows it. For diaspora owners, that sentence contains every common obstacle: the property was never registered at all; it is registered to a deceased parent because the succession was never completed; the house exists physically but only bare land appears in the register; an extension or attic conversion was never recorded; or the registered area and geometry no longer match reality. None of these are visible from your living room in another country — and each surfaces at the worst time, when a buyer is waiting and every week of fixing costs momentum or price.
So the first step of a remote sale is not photography or listing — it is a sale-readiness check: a fresh land registry extract read against reality. We do this from a land book number or even just an address, in days, and give you a plain-English verdict: sellable as-is, or here is the fix list with time and cost. Sellers who run this check list confidently; sellers who skip it discover their problems from the buyer's notary.
The mandate. You do not need to travel. A power of attorney in authentic form — signed at a Romanian consulate, or before a local notary with apostille — lets a trusted person sign the deed in your name. Draft it with the sale mandate explicit and, unless you have full trust in the proxy, keep price approval and payment routing in your own hands: the deed can direct payment straight to your foreign account.
The taxes. Sellers pay an income tax on the transfer, calculated on the transaction value, with the rate depending on how long you have owned the property — currently lower for holdings over three years. The notary calculates and withholds it at signing; there is no separate filing to fear. If you are tax-resident abroad, check the treatment in your country of residence too — most double-taxation treaties handle Romanian real estate cleanly, but that is a question for your accountant, with the notary's tax certificate in hand.
The technical fixes we handle. Where the check finds problems, the usual repairs are our daily work: first registration of never-registered property; recording houses and extensions; updating measurements where old registrations are off; and subdividing where you are selling only part of a plot. Each has a knowable calendar — see the timeline guide — which is precisely why the check should happen before listing, not after an offer.
Run the sale-readiness check immediately — it costs little and takes days. If fixes are needed, typical repairs run from three weeks (simple registration updates) to three months (unsettled succession plus first registration). Starting the power of attorney early is also wise; it is the longest item you personally control.
Usually yes — recording an existing house is standard work if the permit-era documents exist, and there are procedures for older unpermitted houses. But mid-sale is the expensive, stressful version: the buyer waits on your OCPI terms. This exact scenario is why the check comes first.
Only after subdivision creates the part as its own registered property — see our subdivision guide. Plan the split and the sale together; the subdivision conditions from the town hall can affect what is actually sellable.
No — we are surveyors, not agents or lawyers. We make the property legally and technically sellable, produce the documentation, and coordinate with your notary and any agent. The selling, pricing and legal representation stay with professionals you choose; we are happy to recommend ones used to diaspora clients.
Send us a WhatsApp message describing your project — we usually reply within one business day.